Automatic cigarette stacker



June 26, 1934. R. E. RUNDELL AUTOMATIC CIGARETTE STACKER Filed Nov. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l mvsm 1 4 ,-f ATTORNEY nf. @N D Y m, @E W f lil d@ m k m@ a E Q L lllv.. A Nm b KN. n v QN NN R. E. RUNDELL 1,964,084 AUTOMATIC CIGARETTE sTAcKER Filed Nov. 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 26, 1934.

' l ATTORNEY IIII latenieti .lune 25, i934 STATS P A T 1,964,084 anfroMA'rIc CIGARETTE siracusa Application Ncvember 4, 1930, Serial No. 493,432

Claims.

This invention relates to automatic cigarette stackers for cigarette machines, its main object being to continuously stack the cigarettes delivered from the cutoff of a cigarette machine, layer 5 by layer, into suitably shaped trays fed to the cigarette machine, and te automatically transfer the filled trays to a packaging machine arranged to receive their contents directly into its magazine or hopper. With this and other obl@ jects not s ecifically mentioned. in View, the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations which will be hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

To serve a high speed cigarette packaging machine efciently, it has been found expedient to stack several thousands 'of the cigarettes at a time in suitable trays and to continuously feed these trays by a conveyor to the magazine or hopper of the packaging machine. The employment of these trays, while greatly expediting the feeding of the packaging machine and thus increasing its production, requires at least one and usually two additional operators if the trays are filled manually. The present improved mechanism is therefore designed to stack the cigarettes in the trays automatically as they issue from the cigarette machine.

For this purpose, the cigarettes delivered from the cuto of the cigarette machine, after their travel has been changed from the lengthwise to the sidewise direction on a cross-belt and caused to pass over a pair of inclined parallel bars which permit all short or damaged cigarettes to fall out, are collected on a pair of carrier bands running continuously in the same direction as the said cross belt. From these bands, a predetermined number of them are intermittently transferred to an endless steel stacker belt running in front of a stand on which a tray is held in proper position, each group thus advanced forming one layer in the tray, Where they are engaged by a cam-operated plunger reciprocating in the axial direction of the cigarettes and pushing each group across and ofi the stacker belt into the tray.

The trays are supported upon a pair of vertically inclined endless chains on which they are llowered continuously at constant speed as each layer of cigarettes is stacked. When a tray is filled, a dog attached to the tray support on the chain trips a lever which automatically shifts a clutch, thereby moving the chains for a short period at high speed so that the next following tray is in position for receiving its rst layer of Fig. '7 is an end elevation taken on line '7 7 70 i of Fig. 2, showing the mechanism for stacking the cigarettes in the trays; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7.

in carrying the invention into effect there is '75 provided means for collecting cigarettes, means for continuously moving a tray past said collecting means, and means for inserting the collected cigarettes into said tray. In the best constructions contemplated, the collecting means includes a stacker belt and the inserting means includes a horizontally reciprocating plunger provided with an overhanging lip overlying the rear end of the cigarettes to prevent tilting thereof while they are being inserted into the tray on the forward stroke of the plunger. In the preferred form of construction, the means for moving the tray includes spaced chains adapted to support a plurality of trays and a clutch drive for said chains adapted to continuously move the trays past the collecting means at one speed for lilling the trays and at another speed for moving the filled tray out cf filling position and following tray into filling position. These various means and parts may be widely varied in construction Within the scope of the claims, for the particular machine selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible concrete embodiments of the same. `The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the Specific construction shown and described.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the cigarettes C, issuing in a row from the catcher belt l0 of the cigarette machine, are guided by the guard rails 1l, l2 onto a cross belt 13 which causes them to advance in a transverse direction and carries them to a pair of inclined parallel bars 14, so spaced that short or damaged cigarettes will fall through between them into a receptacle l5 provided for that purpose. The perfect cigarettes are collected on the spacedv Carr-ier bands 16 which, moving continuously, deliver them under a rotating brush 17- by which they are properly aligned. and propelled over the bridge plate 18 onto the endless stacker belt 19, which is preferably made of steel to hold its shape better. Top guides 20 and 21 overlying the carrier bands and stacker belt respectively, assist in the alignment of the cigarettes and prevent them from crowding on top of one another while being advanced. When a number of cigarettes, sufficient for one layer of the tray, has arrived on the stack, er belt 19, a finger 22, mounted on a shaft 23 having a crank lever 24 actuated by a rod. 25 operated from a cam, not shown, comes down and arrests the following cigarette on the carrier bands 16 so that the layer on the bands is compact when the finger 22 moves up to permit the next group of cigarettes to advance. The belt 19 travels over pulleys 71 supported by shafts 69 from the frames 28, and the pulleys of the catcher and cross belts and carrier bands may be supported from suitable frames not shown.

While the cigarettes on the carrier bands 16 are arrested, a. plunger 26 operated by means, hereinafter described, pushes the cigarettes on belt 19 (which is supported by the stationary plate 27) across and off the belt into the tray T. The forward edge of the plunger 26 is provided with an overhanging lip to overlie the rear end of the cigarettes to prevent tilting thereof while they are being delivered to the tray. The successive steps of this transfer are shown in Figs. 3 to 6. After a layer of cigarettes C has arrived on belt 19, as shown in Fig. 3, the plunger 26 moves forward as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, thereby stripping the cigarettes off the belt 19 and delivering them to the tray. The plunger 26 moves back into its starting position, as shown in Fig. 6, ready for the next group of cigarettes which arrives on belt 19 while the tray T is lowered the thickness of one cigarette layer by means, hereinafter described.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, the trays T are traversed on a separate stand having the end frames 28 spaced the proper distance apart by the tie rod 29 and the tie plate 30. On the frames 2'8 are journalled the shafts 31 and 32 on which are mounted two pairs of sprockets 33 carrying the vertically inclined chains 34 and 35. At equally spaced intervals, these chains have links 36 projecting to form a support for the trays T. The chains 34 and 35 are continuously advanced by a sprocket 37 mounted on shaft 32, this sprocket being driven by a chain 38 running over a sprocket 39 mounted on countershaft 40. The shaft 40 has a gear 4l meshing with gear 42 on shaft 43 which, in turn, has the sprocket 44 driven by chain 45 from sprocket 46 on motor 47. The speed at which shaft 32 is driven is so adjusted that during the period of each stroke of the plunger 26 the chains 34 and 35 are lowered by the exact thickness of one layer of cigarettes in the tray T. When one tray is lled, the next tray must be in position when the next group of cigarettes is being discharged, hence the chains 34 and 35 must travel a distance equal to the space between the top layer of one tray andthe bottom layer of the next tray during the period of one stroke of the plunger 26. To accomplish this result, the tray supports 36 on the chain 34 carry an adjustably mounted projecting dog 48 which at the proper moment engages and trips a lever 49 pivoted on a bracket supported in the end fratrie 28 and held in engagement with a shit. lever 50, also pivoted o`n said bracket, by a spring 51. The tripping of lever 49 permits a spring 52 to turn lever 50, thereby shifting the clutch 53 into engagement with the gear 54 idling on shaft 43. Gear 54 meshes with the small spur gear 55 on shaft 40 and thus, through sprocket 39, chain 38, and sprocket 37, drives the shaft 32 with its chain sprockets at high speed until a cam 56 mounted adjustably on the clutch projection 57 of gear 54 engages an arm 58 of shift lever 50, thereby restoring the latter to its normal position in which it is again held by the trip lever 49. In the normal position of lever 50 the clutch member 59 which, like the clutch 53, is attached to or integral with the shifter 60 sliding on a key 61 in shaft 43, is in engagement with the clutch member 62 of gear 42, thus driving the shaft 32 at its normal low speed through gear 41, chain 38, and sprocket 37.

A sprocket 63 on shaft 43, by means of chain 64 and sprocket G5, drives a shaft 66 journalled in frames 28 and carrying a cam 67 with the track of which engages the cam lever 68, which. is fixed to the shaft 72, thereby actuating the gear segment fixed on said shaft. Segment 70 meshes wth gear 74 on shaft 75 at the ends of which are mounted the gears 76 engaging with the racks 77 attached to plunger 26. The brackets 8l xed to the frame support the plate 27 in a position underlying the upper run of the belt 19 to prevent the same from sagging.

At the bottom of one of the frames 28 is journalled a shaft 82 on which is mounted the pulley 83 guiding the transverse conveyor 84 on which the lled tray comes to rest when an empty tray arrives at the tray lling position. The conveyer 84, which is preferablyoperated from the drive of the machine served by it, transfers the lled trays to the magazine of the cigarette packaging machine along the supporting rails 85, thus comi pleting the cycle of delivery of the stacked cigarettes from the cigarette machine to the packaging machine.

In view of the foregoing a detailed description of the mode of operation of the device is deemed unnecessary and accordingly omitted in the interest of brevity.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigarette stacker, the combination with means for receiving cigarettes endwise in a single file and collecting them sidewise in a row, of mechanism for continuously moving a tray past said means, and a device for inserting successive rows of the collected cigarettes in said tray.

2. In a cigarette stacker, the combination with means for receiving cigarettes endwise in a single le and collecting them sidewise in a row, of mechanism for continuously moving a tray past said means, and a device for inserting successive rows of the collected cigarettes in said tray, said means including a catcher belt arranged to carry the cigarettes endwise of a cigarette machine from the cutoff, a cross belt arranged to receive the cigarettes from said catcher belt and forward them sidewise, spaced carrier bands adapted to receive the cigarettes sidewise from said cross belt, a stacker belt arranged to receive the cigarettes sidewise from said carrier bands, a rotating brush for feeding the cigarettes from said bands to said stacker belt, and a cam operated ...1

finger for arresting the cigarettes on said carrier bands when a number of cigarettes have been fed to said stacker belt.

3. In a cigarette stacker, the combination with means for receiving cigarettes endwise ina single file and collecting them sidewise in a row, of mechanism for continuously moving a tray past said means, and a device for inserting successive rows of the collected cigarettes in said tray, saidv means including a stacker belt adapted to receive a row oi cigarettes, and said device including a cam operated plunger for pushing the row of cigarettes oi said belt into said tray.

4. In a cigarette stacker, the combination with means for collecting cigarettes in a row, of mechanism for continuously moving a tray past said means, and a device for inserting successive rows of the collected cigarettes in said tray, said mechanism including spaced chains adapted to support a plurality of trays, and a clutch drive for said chains for continuously moving said trays past said stacking device at one speed for lling one tray at a time and at another speed for moving the lled tray out offilling position and the following tray into lling position.

5. The combination with means for receiving cigarettes endwise in single ile and collecting them sidewise in a row, of mechanism alongside said means for continuously lowering a tray past said means and a device crossing the path of said row for transferring the row of cigarettes endwise from said means to a tray in said mechanism.

6. The combination with means for receiving cigarettes endwise in single le and collecting them sidewise in a row, of mechanism alongside said means for lowering a tray past said means and a device crossing the path of said row for transferring the row of cigarettes from said means to a tray in said mechanism, said mechanism including spaced chains arranged to support the tray and a sprocket drive for said chains for moving the tray continuously past said means, and said device including a cam operated plunger for pushing the row of cigarettes off said means into the tray.

'7. Means for receiving' cigarettes endwise in single le and collecting them sidewise in a row, comprising a catcher belt arranged to carry the cigarettes endwise from the cutoff of a cigarette machine, a cross belt arranged to receive the cigarettes from said catcher belt and forward them sidewise, spaced carrier bands adapted to receive the cigarettes sidewise from said cross belt, a stacker belt arranged to receive the cigarettes sidewise from said carrier bands, a rotating brush for feeding the cigarettes from said bands to said stacker belt, and a cam operated. nger for arresting the cigarettes on said carrier bands when a suitable number of cigarettes have been fed to said stacker belt.

8. Means for continuously moving a tray past filling position, comprising spaced chains adapted to support a plurality of trays and a clutch drive for said chains continuously moving the trays past iilling position at one speed for filling one tray at a time and at another speed for moving the lled tray out of lling position and the fol.-f lowing tray into lling position.

9. Means for inserting a collected row of cigarettes into a tray, comprising a plunger and means for reciprocating said plunger horizontally to engage one end of the cigarettes and push them into the tray, said plunger being provided at its forward edge with an overhanging lip arranged to overlie the rear end of the cigarettes to prevent tilting thereof while they are being pushed into the tray.

l0. Means for inserting a collected row of cigarettes into a tray, comprising a plunger, a rack attached to said plunger, a pinion meshing with said rack, a rock shaft carrying said pinion and provided with a spur gear, a cam, and a cam lever engaging said cam and provided with a gear segment meshing with said spur gear.

RUPERT E. RUNDELL. 

